Thai Government Social Insurance, Farangs on...

[BruceMangosteen]

If you have a Work Permit, you are most likely on the "Social" health insurance program.

 

Can someone who has been through changing your designated hospital and/or getting your share of contributions back upon retirement/firing please clear these confusing issues up.

 

Thank you and Godspeed.

 

 

[jumbo]

After my contract expired I went to my SSO in the place where I lived being Ayutthaya and not where I worked being Bangkok

They gave me a check for the contributions/outpayment as I was over 55 and entitled to get my retirement funds and I extended the SS card on my personal name.

The last was somewhat of a procedure as I seemed to be the first foreigner ever asking that in Ayutthaya and needed all existing documentation there was available...

Including yellow tabien baan, pink card, marriage certificate (?) and so on.. but I got it so I am good...

At the same time I changed the designated hospital from one in Bangkok to one in Ayutthaya...

 

For emergencies you can use other hospitals, for example when on holidays outside your region, but they informed me they only paid 50% compensation of expenses in those cases

Since I never have uses SS in such a case I have no idea if that is correct or not...

 

 

[Sheryl]

Your local SS office can explain all this in detail http://www.sso.go.th/wpr/eng/faq_ContactAddress.html

As I understand it, change of hospital can be done only at certain times of the year

 

Make sure that if resigned/retired/fired but still living in Thailand you keep up the payments, that way you have lifetime health insurance at very reasonable cost.

[jumbo]

Since the old SS card is linked to OP's employer and the new card will be linked to OP as a person he will be asked to name his preferred hospital.

 

Payments monthly at 7/11, or cash at SSO, they don't accept bank payments... 432 thb per month, so yeah, very reasonable 

 

 

[BruceMangosteen]

4 hours ago, jumbo said:

Since the old SS card is linked to OP's employer and the new card will be linked to OP as a person he will be asked to name his preferred hospital.

 

Payments monthly at 7/11, or cash at SSO, they don't accept bank payments... 432 thb per month, so yeah, very reasonable 

 

 

FYI, one friend has it set up with automatic debits at his Thai bank. Thanks for your replies.

[blackcab]

They are not especially keen on changing your registered hospital for no reason. I got mine changed because I changed jobs and changed where I lived at the same time.

[jumbo]

On 11/24/2016 at 6:33 PM, BruceMangosteen said:

FYI, one friend has it set up with automatic debits at his Thai bank. Thanks for your replies.

Not in Ayutthaya, this depends on the office where you are registered

 

[jumbo]

On 11/24/2016 at 10:39 PM, blackcab said:

They are not especially keen on changing your registered hospital for no reason. I got mine changed because I changed jobs and changed where I lived at the same time.

Only reason would be when you change location (of either job location or living location)

[Sheryl]

They may not be "keen" but you do have the right to do this, and do not have to have a reason other than a desire to have another hospital. Under the SS scheme, there is a choice of hospitals (though limited to those hospitals in your area which accept SS patients and are still enrolling them -- some highly desirable hospitals accept SS but have so many enrolled already that they aren't taking ion new patients).

 

Changes of hospital are only possible at certain times, I think twice a year. So if you try to do it in between those periods, the office would be correct in telling you that it is not allowed except in case of move or change of employer (though they should then explain that it will be possible during the next "open" period and inform you of when that will be).

 

If you have a SS office telling you that you cannot change hospitals, ever, unless you change jobs or move, then call the  SS call center at 1506 and complain, because likely it is just a civil servant trying to minimize their workload. ..which happens a lot and is usually quickly resolved through a single phone call to the hot line. Remember that in Thailand "mai dai" more often means "I don't want to bother to do it " than "can't be done". It is a popular means of getting rid of people and should not be accepted at face value.

 

The only situation I can envision wherein it would actually be true that you could not change hospitals would be if there was only one hospital in that geographical area that accepted SS patients. That could happen in a remote part of the country but very unlikely anywhere else.

 

 

[BruceMangosteen]

On 11/26/2016 at 3:40 PM, Sheryl said:

. It is a popular means of getting rid of people and should not be accepted at face value.

 

 

Just got a frantic type of email. The person retired and went to the SS office. Getting her lump sum benefit was no problem, but changing over to paying herself caused a denial of sorts. She was told that she "have to have yellow book and pink Thai ID"...She doesn't own a house or condo, and of course doesn't have a pink Thai ID. Has anyone been denied conversion to paying themselves and if so, how was this remedied? The person involved isn't trying to beat the system, just get her insurance continued. She's worked and contributed for seven full years and well, there just isn't any issue I can think of? It simply can't be true you have to own a house/condo to continue your health coverage? Or can/is it? Thank you for any experiences. 

[BruceMangosteen]

On 11/24/2016 at 10:18 AM, jumbo said:

 and I extended the SS card on my personal name.

The last was somewhat of a procedure as I seemed to be the first foreigner ever asking that in Ayutthaya and needed all existing documentation there was available...

Including yellow tabien baan, pink card, marriage certificate (?) and so on.. but I got it so I am good...

 

 

Just saw this reply. Is the "yellow tabien baan" the house book? Did they imply you could not get the SS card changed over to your personal name without this? Thank you. 

[Sheryl]

 

 

1 hour ago, BruceMangosteen said:

Just got a frantic type of email. The person retired and went to the SS office. Getting her lump sum benefit was no problem, but changing over to paying herself caused a denial of sorts. She was told that she "have to have yellow book and pink Thai ID"...She doesn't own a house or condo, and of course doesn't have a pink Thai ID. Has anyone been denied conversion to paying themselves and if so, how was this remedied? The person involved isn't trying to beat the system, just get her insurance continued. She's worked and contributed for seven full years and well, there just isn't any issue I can think of? It simply can't be true you have to own a house/condo to continue your health coverage? Or can/is it? Thank you for any experiences. 

 

She has an absolute right to do this.

 

There s no requirement for a Thai ID card and obviously foreigners will not have one (and many, foreigners have arranged to continue paying into SS after retirement). Many also will not have a tabian baan.

 

There is  need to have proof of dentity, which for a foreigner is passport,  and they may need or want proof of where she lives, which can be any number of things: a letter from immigration or your embassy, a rental contract , rent receipt etc.

 

It sounds like she was dealing with someone unfamiliar with handling this for foreigners.

 

My suggestion is for her to call the main SS call center 1506 and explain the problem and have them call her local office. She should get the name and phone extension of whomever she speaks with, and be prepared to call them again while  she is in the local office to let them explain directly to the staff.

 

Should have her passport with her along with some sort of proof of where she lives. If she has no rent receipts or lease then go to immigration (the office where she normally does her 90 day reporting) and request letter from them.

 

She should be firm and stand her ground. Politely, of course, but firmly.

 

 

[BruceMangosteen]

14 hours ago, Sheryl said:

 

 

 

She has an absolute right to do this.

 

There s no requirement for a Thai ID card and obviously foreigners will not have one (and many, foreigners have arranged to continue paying into SS after retirement). Many also will not have a tabian baan.

 

There is  need to have proof of dentity, which for a foreigner is passport,  and they may need or want proof of where she lives, which can be any number of things: a letter from immigration or your embassy, a rental contract , rent receipt etc.

 

It sounds like she was dealing with someone unfamiliar with handling this for foreigners.

 

My suggestion is for her to call the main SS call center 1506 and explain the problem and have them call her local office. She should get the name and phone extension of whomever she speaks with, and be prepared to call them again while  she is in the local office to let them explain directly to the staff.

 

Should have her passport with her along with some sort of proof of where she lives. If she has no rent receipts or lease then go to immigration (the office where she normally does her 90 day reporting) and request letter from them.

 

She should be firm and stand her ground. Politely, of course, but firmly.

 

 

Thanks for your reply Sheryl. I copy and pasted your comments in an email back to her. This morning I saw her at breakfast and she insists she had her passport and proof of where she lived. Despite this, the "officer" said she had to get the "yellow book" and the "Pink Thai ID" before she could convert to self payment of the Social Insurance. She then started crying...what a meal. Why me I was thinking but in reality, as you indicate perhaps the person she was dealing with simply was following an example of a perfect situation where the foreigner lives here, married to a Thai, in a house she owns, with a "book" and a Thai ID card. I don't know. The person simply wants her insurance to continue as there is not other option health insurance wise(pre existing conditions). God Bless You Sheryl and I'm also praying for this distraught woman. Perhaps there is someone you can hire to do this for you at a reasonable fee? What would be a reasonable fee for this service and where do you find the person? The hard part is already done as I mentioned, at least according to her, the lump sum benefit will be paid in ten business days. (the amount is unknown, again a secret formula so they told her, involves deductions etc.)

Edited April 6, 2017 by BruceMangosteen

[jumbo]

18 hours ago, BruceMangosteen said:

Just saw this reply. Is the "yellow tabien baan" the house book? Did they imply you could not get the SS card changed over to your personal name without this? Thank you. 

No they did not imply I could not get the SS to my personal account. They asked me for these documents, I had them available, although I had to get the pink card from the Amphur, so I handed them to the officer and they arranged the card. I don't have an idea if they would have refused it if I wouldn't have been able to produce these documents/ the card. 

My best guess that as often in Thailand every office makes up the rules as they go...

[Sheryl]

I do not know of any agents that would handle this sort of thing. Again, I urge that she call the SS call center and speak with them and explain the problem. It is NOT required to have a pink ID card nor a tabian ban. Most expats here -- including those married to Thais - do not have either. A passport is always an accepted for mof identification for a foreigner. As for proof of residence, government agencies I have dealt with have all accepted a letter from either immigration, Embassy or the Ampur in lieu of a tabian baan, though it is sometimes necessary to go through a series of officials to find one knowledgable enough on the issue.

 

She can also try calling the government helpline 1111 while in the SS office assuming it is still up and running (I'm not sure on that, last time I used it was about 2 years ago at which time it was very helpful).

 

She needs to get a grip on her emotions. She will get the insurance, but she has to deal with the bureaucracy to do so. What she was told was incorrect, and with patience and help from the appropriate govt agencies head offices she can prevail.

[BruceMangosteen]

On 4/6/2017 at 4:35 PM, Sheryl said:

I do not know of any agents that would handle this sort of thing. 

 

 

She needs to get a grip on her emotions. 

 

Being the good sort I am, I remained involved as far as helping. I stopped by a couple VISA shops in Pattaya and they had no clue what I was even talking about. I then saw an "Accounting" sign and stopped. Lucky enough, they had a lot of experience dealing with Social as it's part of company filings etc.. While never handled something like this, they were willing to add it to there workload for next week. 1000. Baht. "Should be okay, no idea where the owning a house concept(my word) came from"...some concern about her age but I quickly advised that only applied to new applicants, not conversions(I made that up, aren't I quick?) after seven years of enrollment. Truth be told however, if you are in the program you can convert to paying yourself and remain insured. There may be a minimum time of enrollment but hopefully seven years will suffice. The Government could change that for foreigners at any moment but haven't yet to my or their knowledge. The 1000. Baht is for trying, not with a guaranty. If she's denied again I'll have to move along as I have enough of my own emotional problems to deal with. 

[Sheryl]

The minimum time is only 13 months.

 

Age is irrelevant once already enrolled.

 

Why on earth is she unwilling to call the SS Helpline?

[BruceMangosteen]

8 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

The minimum time is only 13 months.

 

Age is irrelevant once already enrolled.

 

Why on earth is she unwilling to call the SS Helpline?

I called it, 1506, and a computer answered "Labor Department press 9 for English"...after pressing 9, nothing happened. I tried three times! Thanks but well, that didn't work. I have some confidence in the Accounting office. 

[BruceMangosteen]

On 4/8/2017 at 11:18 AM, Sheryl said:

The minimum time is only 13 months.

 

Age is irrelevant once already enrolled.

 

Why on earth is she unwilling to call the SS Helpline?

A return visit with Thai help didn't resolve the problem. It seems, and in fact is, the rule in Chonburi province that all foreigners must have a yellow book or the pink Thai ID. The pink ID I was told is normally only given to workers here from Burma and Cambodia.(but I don't know, the thread on it here has vanished) At this point she, the victim of this "rule" and it's implementation  is considering moving to another province which doesn't have such a rule. I told her it was getting to complicated for me to help much more. I suggested she retain legal consul and sue but that may be a bit overboard. I'd be very angry if it was me. God Bless You.

[Sheryl]

So they are now saying either yellow pink OR pink ID? That doesn't make sense as they are 2 entirely different things. One proves identity and the other just proves where one lives.

 

The pink ID card is not the same as the pink card that migrant workers were in the past issued with; they were not covered by SS.

 

Why does she not then just go ahead and get the yellow tabian ban and pink ID (I believe it has to be done in that order)? It is not in any way necessary to own a house or condo to get a yellow tabian ban, tabian bans are not ownership documents. However to get it she will have to have the owner of wherever it is she stays come with her to the ampur, with their own tabian ban, and that may be a hassle. But probably not as much if a hassle as moving.

 

The pink card is discussed here in this thread. Only some places issue them, but if Chonburi is asking for it then presumably they issue them.   https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/898085-id-card-for-farangs/

 

 

[janejira]

Related to an earlier question about changing hospitals....

 

My husband has changed his SS hospital twice and I have changed mine once by filling out a form and giving it to our work HR. HR sends the form to SS on our behalf.

 

We have always changed hospitals in the beginning of the year, Jan-March.